Abrasive sanding or planing devices (also referred to as sandpaper, sanding belts, abrasive planers, or grinding surfaces) are used throughout industry for removing a portion of a material's surface to create a suitable surface finish for the specific requirements. In the woodworking industry, sanding belts are used for removing a portion of the wood surface from a piece of wood as to create a particular finish on the resulting wood surface. An example of such a sanding or abrasive belt is the VFM 36".times.75", 30 grit belt. A typical abrasive wide belt is approximately 36".times.75"and typically would be placed into an automatic wide belt sanding device. When mounted in the sanding device, the abrasive surface is exposed and the belt is held in place by a series or rollers in the sanding equipment. An example of such an automatic wide belt sanding device is the Cemco Model 2000 wide belt sander.
After the wide belt sanding device is turned on and the abrasive belt is rotating, an operator would place material into a pathway so a surface of the material comes into contact with the abrasive surface of the belt. As the abrasive surface of the belt comes into contact with the material being sanded, a portion of the wood surface ie removed by the abrasive surface.
As a result of this sanding operation, the abrasive sanding belt begins to "load up" with pieces of the material being sanded. In wood products this "loading up" may comprise pieces of wood, sap, glue and/or burnt wood particles. As the abrasive belt "loads up", the amount of sanding/grinding/planing decreases and the quality of the materials being processed is effected. The abrasive surface of the belt will continue to sand a surface until it becomes loaded to the extent where it ceases to provide the necessary sanding characteristics. At this time, the operator typically removes the sanding belt and replaces it with a new one, permanently disposing of the used, loaded up, abrasive sanding belt.
Prior attempts to clean abrasive sanding/planing media have involved the use of solvents, water or a gummy type solutions that require the abrasive belt to be first removed from the sanding device so the solution can be applied thereafter to the surface of the belt. This cleaning operation, however, yields an abrasive belt that is only partially cleaned. Because the abrasive belt most often has a paper type backing, the belt also tends to stretch after exposure to these cleaning solutions and thus no longer fits correctly onto the sanding equipment. These methods of cleaning greatly reduce the life of the belt.
In addition to the foregoing shortcomings or problems with prior art cleaning methods, removing the belts from the equipment or device reduces the production capacity of the machine at a rate relative to the amount of time required to shut the machine down and remove, replace and reset the belt on the machine. Removal and re-installation of the belts also involves re-tensioning of the belt on the equipment to the previous tension(s) so the material being processed through the equipment having a "cleaned belt" will have the same finish as the previous material process before cleaning the abrasive belt. Because the belts tend to stretch after application of the cleaning solution(s), however, the "cleaned" belts do not tighten correctly. Also, and as a result of these prior art cleaning methods, the "cleaned" abrasive belts may fall apart when the equipment is turned on and operated.
In sum, a long outstanding and major problem within the woodworking and metalworking industries in the area of surface preparation and/or finishing involves the capability to clean the abrasive surface of the sanding, grinding or planing equipment. Prior attempts have not solved this long standing problem with cleaning such abrasive sanding, planing or grinding surfaces.